Establishing rates of carbon sequestration in mangroves from an earthquake uplift event

We assessed the carbon stocks (CS) in mangroves that developed after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Silonay, Oriental Mindoro, south Luzon, The Philippines in November 1994. The earthquake resulted in a 50 cm uplift of sediment that provided new habitat within the upper intertidal zone which mangroves colonized (from less than 2 ha pre-earthquake to the current 45 ha, 23 years post-earthquake). The site provided an opportunity for a novel assessment of the rate of carbon sequestration in recently established mangroves. The carbon stock was measured in above-ground, below-ground and sediment compartments over a seaward to landward transect. Results showed a mean carbon stock of 549 ± 30 Mg C ha−1 (of which 13% was from the above-ground biomass, 5% from the below-ground biomass and 82% from the sediments). There was high carbon sequestration at a 40 cm depth that can be inferred attributable to the developed mangroves. The calculated rate of C sequestration (over 23 years post-earthquake) was 10.2 ± 0.7 Mg C...